Part 1: The Homecoming Swift

Theonis took a deep breath of musty air and wiped his hands on his apron. He quickly grabbed the plate and mugs off of an empty table and wiped it down. The Rat Hole Tavern was a popular destination and it was just getting crowded. Theonis scurried back to the kitchen with the dirty dishes.

He had been working here for a couple of years now, ever since he left his mother’s house. It was hard but rewarding work and the owner, Visiki, paid a decent wage. It was a comfortable enough life, for what little it was.

Visiki was waiting in the kitchen with another platter of food.

“Theonis, take this to table five,” she said sharply. “And get the orders from tables eight and eleven.”

Theonis nodded and picked up the serving plate. It was a little heavy for him, not that he’d show it in front of his boss. The table was all the way in the front of the dining room and Theonis’ arms were a little sore when he got there.

The customers were pirates. That much was clear from how tough and strong and loud they were. Most of the patrons were pirates, most of the time. The island of Stemini, where the village of Angalis was built, had been settled by pirates long ago as a safe haven. A magical fog around the island kept out people who didn’t belong, making it the safest place for a pirate to live.

Once, when Theonis was really young, someone had betrayed the island by leading a naval ship through the fog. The ensuing fight had resulted in one of the other villages nearly burning down. To this day it had never been fully rebuilt. Other than that incident, though, the fog had kept intruders at bay for Theonis’ lifetime.

“That’s right!” one of the pirate’s cried, taking a mug of beer right off the platter. “Give me some of that piss!”

Theonis rested the serving tray in the crook of his arm and rushed over to the next table to take their order. Lunch was just starting and the tavern was filling up. As long as Theonis focused, he’d be able to keep up with the heavy workload, but he couldn’t let that focus slip for even a moment.

More than once, Theonis had thought about jumping in himself and joining a pirate crew. It was what was expected of people his age; if nothing else, it was the only way to really move up in the world. Pirates were simply more well-regarded than commoners because they were actually bringing wealth back to the island. Pirate captains had even higher social status, with fancy clothes and large private homes. If he ever wanted to make something of his life, Theonis was going to have to join a pirate ship.

He always dismissed the idea, though. Theonis didn’t want to become a pirate. He didn’t want to do much of anything. Truth be told, Theonis felt lost. Who exactly was he? What was he supposed to be doing with his life? Everyone else wanted to be a pirate; why wasn’t that good enough for him? Aside from having to become all big and grisly and ugly and aggressive, of course.

“Good job, Theonis,” Visiki said when Theonis got back into the kitchen. “These drinks are for tables four, six, and nine. Be ready. Lunch is almost in full force.”

There were a couple of commoners scattered about the dining area. They were just as impatient with Theonis as the pirates were, but they weren’t quite as scary just because they weren’t quite as big and strong. The difference in social class was obvious, though: everyone wore fairly simple clothes, but pirates at least could afford to have their garments dyed and tailored. Only pirate captains often wore anything that could be considered fancy. Theonis had always thought that it would be nice to one day have money like that.

As lunch came to an end and more people started leaving than arriving, the owner Visiki pulled Theonis aside.

“Three ships are scheduled to come back tomorrow and they’re going to want food,” she explained. “It’s going to be a busy day and I need you in top form. You’ll be working from opening to closing, so go home and get some rest.”

“I’ll be ready,” Theonis assured her. “Don’t worry.”

“About you? I’m not worried.”

Theonis returned to the kitchen and took off his apron to put it away. He bade a brief goodbye to some of the other workers on his way out. Out of the building and away from the noise, he stopped to stretch. Theonis could really use a snack right now. What were his friends up to? Were they around?

The village of Angalis wasn’t in the best shape. The whole town was built from the dark wood of the island’s forests, same as the ships themselves, making them feel a little uninviting. Buildings were small and square with slanted roofs, and it was easy to get lost if you didn’t keep track of which street you were on. This part of Angalis was close to the water, so it was pretty lively, but some of the buildings were in enough disrepair that they’d need to be torn down and rebuilt if only there was enough money to do so. Still, it had been Theonis’ home for his entire life. The village was familiar and comfortable.

After grabbing a bit of fish from a vendor to sate the hunger pains, Theonis started searching the pier for his friends. They’d be around somewhere. It took a while, but he did spot a familiar group of three boys about his age milling about.

“Hey!” Theonis cried, running up. “What’s up?”

“Scrawny!” Zinias cried. “I thought you were working. What are you doing here?”

“I have the afternoon off,” Theonis said. “Boss needs me in top shape for tomorrow.”

“More like she knew you needed to rest those weak arms,” Dioton scoffed.

“Very funny,” Theonis mumbled. He wished that they would stop, but he knew for a fact that if he asked them to lay off, they’d just make fun of him for being too sensitive.

“Come on, you can handle it,” Savidis said, punching Theonis in the arm. “When are you gonna get a real job like the rest of us?”

All the guys were bigger and stronger than Theonis. Zinias was a woodcutter, Dioton was a fisherman, and Savidis worked in construction. Each one of them had offered to get Theonis a “real job” before, but the thought of getting all beefy like them had always bothered Theonis.

“Like I was saying,” Dioton continued, “I really thought that this time I was gonna get on board a ship. It’s bullshit. The lieutenants only want experienced pirates. How is anyone supposed to get started as a pirate, then?”

The talk continued from there. Theonis was only half-paying attention; he’d heard this all before and it always made him a little uncomfortable. Sometimes one of the guys would take a jab at Theonis, and he’d take a jab back, but his spirit was always a little bruised afterward. At least they were really friends with him; not everyone would be so charitable.

“There you are.”

Theonis turned around to see a woman with short chestnut hair in a long red overcoat with a flowing green skirt. She was wearing several necklaces and bracelets, along with multiple earrings. There was a scar across her throat. One hand was on the sword at her belt and her hat was a little askew.

“Oh, hi, Mom,” Theonis said. “What are you doing here?”

“Can I speak to you, alone? Just for a moment?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

They walked a little ways down the pier where they wouldn’t be overheard. Theonis stared at what his mother was wearing. He’d always envied the fact that women who rose to the rank of captain always got nice skirts and dresses and fancy jewelry, unlike the plain jewelry that men got to wear. Even if he ever became a pirate captain one day, he’d never be able to wear stuff like that without being ostracized by the whole village.

“How are you doing, Theonis?” she asked softly.

“Alright. I have a big day at work tomorrow. Are you almost ready for your next trip?”

“The crew is preparing the ship. I’ll be ready to leave before the week is over. But I want to talk about you.”

Theonis’ heart sank a little and he nodded. He sat down on a small crate and his mother sat down next to him. For a moment, they were both quiet.

“You’re an adult now, Theonis,” his mother said. “I’d really like to see you finally join a pirate crew. You’re old enough to start contributing to the community in a meaningful way. Besides, this is the best way to make something of your life and I think you know that.”

Theonis nodded slowly, but said nothing.

“I know that you’re not the most aggressive type,” she continued. “Maybe it would have helped if you’d had a father around to help raise you, but I still believe that you have the potential to do great things, Theonis.”

Theonis’ father had died shortly before he was born. In response, Sophiria had given Theonis his name. Theonis Senior’s savings had become Sophiria’s property, and she had used their combined money to invest in a ship and crew. She’d been a pirate captain for all of Theonis Junior’s life. He had spent a lot of time at home with only a nanny to watch over him while his mother was working.

“I have a friend who is planning a trip right now,” Sophiria said. “If you want, I can talk to Agemrion and ask him to give you a place on his crew. I can’t give you a place on my ship, unfortunately. My crew will think that I’m playing favorites and hold it against you no matter what I say or do. But Agemrion is a good man and he’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”

“I’ll think about it, Mom,” Theonis promised.

“That’s all I ask, Son,” she replied, standing up. “Let me know what you decide.”

Theonis returned to his friends, but he was feeling restless after the talk with his mother. He bade them goodbye and headed home. Unfortunately, he wasn’t paying attention and took a wrong turn, getting lost amidst the identical wooden buildings. After a bit of backtracking, he found the street he lived on and returned to the boarding house.

For a while, Theonis just laid in bed and started up at the wooden ceiling. A couple of people somewhere else in the boarding house were having a shouting match. Theonis tuned them out. He’d been here a few years now and had learned to cope with the sound.

“What am I doing?” he asked himself, curling up into a ball.

If Theonis was being honest with himself, his life was going nowhere. If he didn’t become a pirate, he would always be a commoner. He’d never even be able to make enough money to start his own business one day; not that he wanted to, but it was a better alternative to being a pirate forever. And it’s not like any woman would ever want to marry a nobody like him.

Theonis got up. A walk would help him clear his head. He headed downstairs and outside into the summer heat. This part of town was a bit more run down than where Theonis worked, but it had still been his home for a while. It was a step down from living with a pirate captain in a private house, but home nonetheless.

The best part of living here and not in a nicer part of town was that there was forest nearby. The terrain was a little rocky and Theonis was walking uphill, but it was good to be in nature again for a little while. The mountain made it difficult to build too far inland, so a lot of nature had been preserved.

He sat down on a jutting rock to think while birds chirped around him. His mother was right: if he didn’t do something soon, he’d wind up too old to join a pirate crew anyway and there’d be no way to make anything of his life. It was well past time for him to take control of his life and get out of the situation that he found himself stuck in.

“I don’t want to do this,” he muttered.

Becoming a pirate would require him to change a lot about himself. Not just physically, either. Pirates had to be tough and aggressive. Theonis had never felt like he was as much a man as the other men he was surrounded by. That would have to change if he was going to succeed in the pirate’s life.

But he’d be successful. This was the key to a better life. Maybe not a happier one—Theonis wasn’t sure what he needed to be happy—but a better one. And his mother was offering to help. He’d be a fool not to take this opportunity. So he was going to. That was that.

Theonis didn’t get up. Instead he watched a bird flying over the trees. It was a fast bird with long wings: a homecoming swift, a type of bird native to the island. He watched as it flew over to a large rock wall and grabbed onto it with its talons. It must have a nest hanging there.

They were called homecoming swifts because they spent most of their lives flying around the islands, but always returned to Stemini itself to build their nests. Theonis could be like that if he wanted: always going on one adventure after another. Maybe if he thought about it that way, joining a pirate ship didn’t seem like such a bad prospect after all.

“It’s not going to be so bad,” he told himself, standing up. “Yeah, I think this is the start of an exciting new phase of my life.”

QuillRabbit

Okay, this one might actually take a bit of explaining. I started this story a while ago as a long-haul project, a series of four novellas all collected as a single long-running narrative. Normally, I don't upload a story until I'm entirely finished with it, but with this story that simply wasn't an option. Because it's so long, both the trans and the romance themes are going to be very slow burns. We'll see some development in the first part, but things don't really pick up until part two. Hopefully, the story and character of Theonis is still compelling enough to hold your interest until then.

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